The two Emergency Ordinances adopted by the Government of Romania, regarding the reform of the public administration and the economic recovery, have sparked heated debates in the public space, especially regarding the targeted layoffs in town halls.
The Government of Romania adopted two Emergency Ordinances that will have an important impact on public administration and the economy.
The ordinance aimed at reforming the administration provides for the reduction of expenses and personnel in the public sector, as well as some measures to improve the efficiency and decentralization of public services.
The second Ordinance introduces tax facilities and support schemes designed to stimulate investment and the business environment. The normative acts adopted by the Government generated strong reactions in the public space.
Debates on administrative reform
Some Romanians complain about the way in which these measures were adopted, through Emergency Ordinances, and believe that they should have been extensively debated in the Romanian Parliament.
“Do we still have a Parliament in this country?”, asks, ironically, a netizen on the Reddit platform.
Another believes that the announced reforms will not visibly improve the lives of Romanians.
“All these measures are zero for ordinary people. Taxes are just as high, wages just as bad,” he complains.
Someone else claims the dismissals approved by the Emergency Ordinance adopted by the Government.
“Those people who will lose their jobs what will they do? Especially since it is not easy at all, in this period, on the labor market”he asks.
Another Romanian is distrustful of how the reform will be implemented.
“This ‘reform’ is just a stroke of the pen. Who will decide who leaves? The same corrupt administration. I can’t wait to go from a partially functional public apparatus to a completely non-functional one”, he states.
Someone else believes that a real reform should target the structure of UATs (combinations, reducing the number of very small town halls), not just job cuts.
“Where is the reform regarding the UATs? What about the one related to town halls in villages with 10-15 employees? No one will do a real reform of the UATs, because that would mean losing mayors, and both PNL and PSD rely on mayors for election campaigns and to mobilize votes. Mayors lose very little and have a lot of freedom in how they will apply these cuts.” he states.
Some Romanians appreciate the reforms announced by the Government and criticize the negative reactions in the public space.
“It was approved to cut 10% of the state’s expenses. And positions will be cut from the town halls, where the whole village is employed at the town hall to look at the walls. The government ordinance also changes the retirement age of policemen and military personnel, so that they don’t have to pay two fines and then retire at 40, with a pension of 3,000 euros. I mean, frankly, I don’t understand: I don’t do we complain about the town halls that they don’t do anything? We don’t complain about the town hall employees, who are there because they are from the mayor’s family, but they don’t know how to do anything?”, comments another netizen ironically.
Someone else concludes that “the Romanian is poor because, when he tries to get well, he complains and beats the one who would have tried to help him”.
Dismissals from town halls, questioned
A Romanian claims that the measures hit “ordinary people” and public sector employees, while large companies would be protected or even given a tax advantage.
“We continue to take from the suckers, we fire people (although the budget apparatus already cannot function with the current number of employees, because there are too few where it really matters) and we keep the big companies in the fluff, so that they pay even less taxes. It’s not as if Romania isn’t already a tax semi-paradise”, comment this one.
Another shares his opinion, adding that Romania’s problem is not a public apparatus that is too big, but, on the contrary, one that is too small compared to its population, of approximately 20 million Romanians and another ten million who live outside the country.
“Those employed on the rolls, most likely, will stay in their positions. Those without rolls will be fired. Where possible, the expenses from the pen will be reduced. The law is made in a format that leaves a lot of power to the municipalities and does not reform anything. Some expenses will decrease now, but it is very possible that, in 2027, the budget will be increased in place”, someone else thinks.
However, an internet user believes that town halls and Local Police services will be able to continue to function, even with staff reductions.
“Bolojan simply had to do the magic reform: one that doesn’t cut spending or benefits for anyone, doesn’t raise taxes anywhere, and at the same time lowers the deficit. How hard can it be?” asks another netizen ironically.
Reforms adopted by emergency ordinances
The normative acts aimed at public administration reform and the economic recovery package were adopted by emergency ordinances. The first of them provides for a 10% reduction in the positions held in the local administration and a 10% reduction in personnel expenses at the central level. About 13,000 city hall officials could be fired, and almost 6,000 positions of personal advisers in dignitaries’ offices will be eliminated.
Non-payment of traffic fines may lead to the automatic suspension of the license (one day for every 50 lei unpaid), and the same ordinance prepares the gradual increase of the retirement age in public order services.
“The reform in the administration is an important one, because it comes and solves some aspects related to the local administration, but also from the central administration. It makes them more efficient, with personnel audits, reducing the expenditure bases of the administration. It comes with clarifications related to the support of decentralization, bringing provisions regarding the shortening of procedures, their simplification and the creation of legal bases for the transfer of assets that today are not well managed by the central apparatus, such as sports bases, to local authorities”. Prime Minister Bolojan announced.
The economic recovery package aims at fiscal facilities and measures to stimulate investments: tax deductions, incentives for listing on the stock exchange, increasing the ceilings for VAT and fixed assets, the possibility of returning to micro-enterprise status, super-accelerated depreciation and the introduction of the tax credit.
The Minister of Finance, Alexandru Nazare, stated that this package generates a more predictable and competitive environment for investments, a greater flow of capital in the economy and the real capacity of the state to attract major projects, both for Romanian companies and for foreign investors.
“A strategic instrument of 5 billion euros, the relaunch package adopted on Tuesday, with application from this year until 2032, radically transforms the development model of the Romanian economy: from consumption to scalable investments, to innovation, real added value and domestic production”, announced Alexandru Nazare, Minister of Finance, on his Facebook page.
